astronomy

L. Donald Shields

L. Donald Shields is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand L. Donald Shields rather than just read about it. In short: Loran Donald Shields (born September 18, 1936) is an American academic. He was the president of California State University, Fullerton from 1971 to 1980, and of Southern Methodist University from 1980 to 1986.

Key takeaways

L. Donald Shields belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect L. Donald Shields to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of L. Donald Shields from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Loran Donald Shields (born September 18, 1936) is an American academic. He was the president of California State University, Fullerton from 1971 to 1980, and of Southern Methodist University from 1980 to 1986.

Early life and education Loran Donald Shields was born on September 18, 1936, in San Diego, California. He received a B.A. in chemistry from the University of California, Riverside, and a PhD from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1964.

Career From 1963 to 1967, he taught in the chemistry department at California State University, Fullerton, at which time he became vice-president for administration. At the time of his appointment to the presidency of California State University, Fullerton in 1971, he was the youngest president of a public college or university in the United States. He served as the president of California State University, Fullerton from 1971 to 1980, until he took on the presidency of Southern Methodist University. He resigned in 1986 because of health issues, at the time of the Southern Methodist University football scandal. In 1974, President Gerald Ford appointed him to the National Science Board. He served on the National Science Board from 1974 to 1980. In 1989, he became the executive director of the California Council on Science and Technology, and remained in that position until 1995. He also served on the board of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement from 1983 to 1986, and on the National Commission for Cooperative Education.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with L. Donald Shields

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what L. Donald Shields claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to L. Donald Shields before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about L. Donald Shields ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of L. Donald Shields

In research: L. Donald Shields appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses L. Donald Shields in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: L. Donald Shields is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1936 births, 21st-century American chemists, Academics from San Diego, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for L. Donald Shields outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study L. Donald Shields in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what L. Donald Shields means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain L. Donald Shields out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is L. Donald Shields in simple terms?

Why does L. Donald Shields matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study L. Donald Shields?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on L. Donald Shields.